It’s December. The time has come for Sydney’s greatest lifestyle destination to be scented by pines, dappled with lights and doused in festive cheer!

While our northern neighbours cosy up with some mulled wine by the fire, Kensington Street basks in the warmth of a classic Australian Christmas. From 11AM - 8PM, Sunday 13 December, a bustling arts, food and lifestyle mecca will emerge in our inaugural Kensington Street Christmas Bazaar!

In this alfresco marketplace, Sydney’s brightest artisans are our bantering merchants and the Chippendale community our curious perusers, all abrew in a melting pot spiced by the flavours of global cuisines and stirred to life by roving buskers.

Curated by the Chippendale Creative Precinct with the generous support of Greencliff Realty and Kensington Street Holdings, the perfect gift opportunity awaits you at this free event!

So what, or whom, will we encounter in the bazaar?

Within the bazaar resides an artisan hub, whose members conduct an exchange of ideas and creative produce.

Kensington Contemporary will reconstruct its upcycled modular landscape alongside a collection of prints from its most established artists, including Bernard Ollis, Johnny Romeo, Rachel Wells and many other established artists. Draped with lush textiles, soft furnishings and pools of jewellery, traverse this landscape with an eye for the trinket that’s just a little bit different.

This will exhibit alongside LOCAL DESIGN, whose products extend outdoors while their concept space is occupied by designer pieces from UTS Masters of Design. Encounter the creations of industrial forerunner Tom Fereday, Rachel Vosila and the environmentally sustainable furniture of Abalos. Roll up to roll out customised wrapping paper from Kate Banazi.

Accompanied by stalls from our stalwart champions of cutting-edge design, the Australian Design Centre, this city’s most formidable artisans will congregate, banter and spread their designs across our cobblestoned street.

Boxes of Babylon - The Designer Life Collection

Into the bazaar enter our providores and their vast array of bespoke wares, laid out for the taking.

Pay a visit to The Herb Store, our modern apothecary for the medicinal, the culinary, the bush tucker. Within our renovated Federation cottages, Boxes of Babylon have curated an innovative assemblage of luxury gifts, thoughtfully sourced worldwide and brought into our Chippendale home. Take a bite from A Slice Of Orange, a producers collective from rural Orange offering homemade jams and a seasonal selection to all who hunger for a harvest. Housed in the architectural remnants of Sydney’s past, our providores inhabit workers lodgings that were once vacated and hollow.

Artwork by Barry White

City of Sydney’s former historian Dr Shirley Fitzgerald will mount her soap box to proclaim stories of The Ghost of Christmas Past! Who used to inhabit these workers cottages, these old shells of Kensington Street? On a street bookended by abandoned Mortuary Station and the lively Broadway thoroughfare, listen up as Dr Fitzgerald spins stories of the ghosts that once lived in between. 

From 12PM, 1PM & 2PM, join her as she conducts her historical talks! 

Register your interest with Nicky Ginsberg - email nickyginsberg@kensingtonstreet.com.au

Sink your teeth into this: food and beverage will be abundant from morning to night. On the crowded feast table that is Kensington Street’s bar and dining culture, we present you with cuisines from far and wide!

Awaken distant memories of travelling across Europe at Bistrot Gavroche, where French crepes and charcuterie are cured to excellence, or share tapas spreads at Bar Chinois, reminiscent of Parisian sidewalk cafes and their slick clientele. They’re now licensed, so drop in for a drink!

Dive into dishes hot off Spice Alley woks, as Alex Lee Kitchen and Old Jim Kee deliver their authentic cooking on Kensington Street’s main passageway and in the hidden courtyards behind it. Indulge in Indonesian satay and stir fry from newcomer Mekong. Flavoursome, punchy and seasoned with a lot of heart - these are the masters of Kensington Street’s Asian cuisine.

KOI, the Poernomo brothers’ debut dessert bar, will offer a glimpse of their menu including “Little Garden”, the showstopper dessert grown from chocolate soil and edible flowers.

Huge variety of cullinary delights on offer

Simmer down in the summer heat with Noah’s Natural Cane Juice, or slide into the Wats On Tap pop-up bar, where heavy humidity is buoyed by chilled wines and signature Christmas cocktails (with a mocktail for the kids too!). Break open a bottle of sparkling to accompany the finest selection from Ralston Bros Oysters, and float away on that sweet 5 o’clock tide.

Let loose the child at heart - our workshops are waiting!

Be soothed in a hushed amphitheatre of Sarah Parkin’s acoustics and swing to David Sharp, whose smooth renditions of pop classics and oldie goldies slick up Kensington Street.

We’ll enjoy a spot of busking from Ian Berney of Birds of Tokyo, breaking out a round of alternative rock for our street music scene. Sacre bleu! Steve Coburn’s seafaring tunes and gyspy strums will fall upon our listeners’ ears. 

Enjoy the melodies and sparkling holiday voices of Alouette Quartet, an all-ladies four piece performing festive favourites to mark the occasion. The combined vocals in this quartet will invigorate the street with carols and familiar Christmas tunes.  Deck the halls!

This is Christmas on Kensington Street.

We’d like to thank the partners and sponsors who have helped us build the bazaar from over these past few whirlwind weeks!

Many, many thanks to the life of the marketplace - our brilliant stallholders, Kensington Street tenants and live musicians! Massive acknowledgements also extend to:

For more information, please contact Nicky Ginsberg, Creative Director of Kensington Street and President of the Chippendale Creative Precinct nickyginsberg@chippendalecreative.com.au, 93182992.

WHAT: Kensington Street Christmas Bazaar
WHERE: Kensington Street, Chippendale NSW 2008
WHEN: 11AM - 8PM, Sunday 13th December
ADMISSION: FREE